Customer service is an important part of any business; regardless of how big or small your operation is.  Smaller home-based businesses and entrepreneurs may have less of a budget than bigger Web-based stores, but you can practice good customer service tactics on a shoestring budget.

The Importance of Good Customer Service

Customer service is something that will help grow your business. Often, you will be rewarded with a loyal customer base for your efforts. Providing personalized and prompt customer service also gives you an edge over the bigger, more well-known competition, if you do it right.  When you personally get in touch with a customer it shows you care and respect them.

One benefit to being online is that you can offer your customers a number of different ways to reach out to your business.  From online chat to offering telephone support, the following communication solutions can help you offer better customer service for your small online Web shop.

Offering Telephone Support Service

Your Web shop is hosted online and your customers buy online -- but many will want to pick up the phone and call if they have a question. By offering phone support, you can not only assist your customers, but also inspire trust by providing non-Internet based contact information.  

As a small business or SOHO operation it will be important for you to decide on what hours you will offer phone support and clearly indicate those times on your website. To keep customer calls separate from your home phone line, you can check with your phone service provider about having a second line installed or set-up call forwarding to handle any incoming business calls.

Another idea would be to invest in an often cheaper VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), or Internet telephony system. You can learn more about VoIP for SMB is this VoIP: A Primer for Small Business guide.

Using Live Chat for Customer Service

Live customer support technology (also called live chat or live help), lets a business offer immediate, real-time assistance to website visitors through text-based chat. There are a number of vendors that offer live chat solutions, and while exact features of each solution will vary, the end result is similar.  When you use Live Chat, your website visitors can click a "Live Chat" button if they need assistance. You would receive a notification of a customer inquiry and could begin an online chat session to provide assistance.  Some solutions may also let you track your customers and initiate the chat conversation if you see they may be having a problem on your site.

 These solutions are a good choice for SOHOs and entrepreneurs as you can "hide" the chat button on the site if you are not available. For more information on how text-based customer service solutions work, see this Chatting Your Way to Success with Live Support article.

Online Discussion Forums

An online discussion forum is another way to offer support and knowledge to your customers. Forums can help you provide customer service and can also help you build an online community around your own site. Within your online forum, you can also provide areas for customers to post questions or offer suggestions and feedback.  Forums offer moderation options, so you will be able to preview the messages, and also be alerted by SMS or email when someone has posted a new message. A forum is also a great place for you to provide an in-depth FAQ that customers can read to find answers to your most common questions.

Email and Mail Contact

Of course, email is a standard in customer service, and it is a good idea to set-up an email account just for handling customer support-related email.  Like phone support, you should include the hours email support is available and tell customers when to expect a reply (e.g. one business day, 48-hours and so on).  You can also provide a contact form on your website that will allow customers to provide specific details about their inquiry. Email is an important customer support tool, but be sure to respond to emails in a timely manner.

It is also a good idea to provide a mailing address, should a customer want to contact you in writing. This is also important if you offer a newsletter subscription as a postal mail address should also be provided at the end of your opt-in e-mail communications.

For a home-based business you can rent a mail box from your postal carrier or other local service provider to keep your home address private. You can also talk to your local post office to find out about redirection and other services that may be available to you.

Make Contacting You Easy

The more ways you can offer a customer to contact you, the more a customer will appreciate you and your business. You don’t have to be available 24-hours a day, but be considerate and make sure you or an employee is available during the times you advertise your customer support service availability.

 Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.